Boston Pride Features Dyke March and Parties for the Ladies

Pride weekend sizzles for the ladies of Boston with the Boston Dyke March, the Cheers for Queers after-party, the LUSH women’s pride party, and Sunday’s JP Block Party. Get your crew together and don’t miss a beat!

Start Pride off right at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 13, by marching in Boston’s annual grassroots assertion of lesbian rights. The Boston Dyke March first began in 1995, and has remained an open venue for women of all races, ages, ethnicities, sizes, economic backgrounds and physical abilities to come together and march for visibility. Be prepared to step off at 7 p.m. and remember, this isn’t a parade -- it’s a political march!

Being political is important, but so is having fun. After the march at 9 p.m., head to "Cheers for Queers," and grab dinner and cocktails before you dance the night away with DJ MaryAlice, Billboard Magazine Dance Music reporter. This is the Official Dyke March After-Party.

"Cheers for Queers" will be held from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. on June 13 at the Milky Way at the Brewery, 284 Amory Street in Jamaica Plain. Admission is $10, to benefit the Dyke March. For information, visit http://www.dykenight.com/dykemarch.php

All these Dyke-tastic events lead up to Boston Pride. The Parade starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 14 at Copley Square, and ends at City Hall Plaza on Cambridge Street.

The parade brings the crowd right to the Boston Pride Festival for fabulous performances by Mary Lambert, JD Samson, Alex Newell, Jeanie Tracy and A Great Big World, with Sean Doherty as your emcee.

The festival attracts about 75,000 revelers to check out vendors, local exhibitors from health services organizations, advocacy groups, LGBT-friendly companies and more. There is a beer and wine garden, a rest and massage area, and a family zone for the kiddies.

For the best in Pride After-parties, head to LUSH: Boston Women’s Pride Party at Machine Nightclub on Boylston St. The club opens early for the best and biggest women’s Pride party the city has to offer. Avail yourself of their four bars and two dance floors, a pool lounge, gravity-defying pole dancers, go-go girls and a state of the art sound and light system.

DJ Super Squirrell will serve up a queer pop stew of old and new school radio cuts, hip-hop, global dance, indie electronica and more. Whether she’s rocking you on the dance floor, teaching turntablism in the classrooms of Harvard, or spinning for Lady Gaga’s charity kickoff, DJ Super Squirrel delivers every time. She will be accompanied by belly dance performers Leilah and Inaya Nour, full-time members of Urban Nomad who have been dancing together since 2009.

DJ Dena takes over the ones and twos at 10 p.m., with a mix of your favorite dance hits, with DJ Triana in the lounge, spinning eclectic sets mixing reggaeton, samba, candombe and bachata with your favorite top ’90s hip-hop hits, the best throw acks and some European hip-hop.

At 11 p.m., Montreal’s number one drag king, Nat King Pole will give a performance to remember, followed by Allixx Mortis, an award-winning androgyne troupe dedicated to breaking your heart with their bodacious burlesque. Get your tickets early and skip the line.

LUSH will be held from 7 p.m.-2 a.m. on June 14 at Machine Nightclub, 1254 Boylston St, Boston. Advance tickets $20. For information, visit www.dykenight.com

Finish the weekend of Pride on Sunday, June 15 with the JP Outdoor Block Party, an all-ages funfest on Perkins Street between South Huntington Avenue and Centre Street, Jamaica Plain.

The party boasts seven hours of entertainment, starting with a community showcase featuring live musical performances by Kristen Ford (Indie Rock), Chemical 13 (’90s Covers), and Zili Misik (New World Soul).

At 3 p.m., the Divas, Dogs & Drag Show features rescue dogs available for adoption, showcased by some of Boston’s most celebrity drag queens and kings, featuring emcee Nat King Pole. At 4 p.m., DJ Jodi, best known for her wildly popular Ogunquit Maine women’s tea dances, will spin a mix of top 40 and hip-hop, peppered with retro, rock, Latin and old school.

The JP Outdoor Block Party will be held from noon-7 p.m. on Sunday, June 15 at Perkins Street between South Huntington Avenue and Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, MA. Admission is $10. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/863030590378294/

Come rain or come shine, Boston Pride has a lot to offer the ladies. Don’t miss out on a wicked good time!

Winnie McCroy is the Women on the EDGE Editor, HIV/Health Editor, and Assistant Entertainment Editor for EDGE Media Network, handling all women’s news, HIV health stories and theater reviews throughout the U.S. She has contributed to other publications, including The Village Voice, Gay City News, Chelsea Now and The Advocate, and lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she writes about local restaurants in her food blog, http://brooklyniscookin.blogspot.com/

The New York City Dyke March celebrated its 20th year of marching for visibility on Saturday, June 23, but clashes between lesbians and the transgender and gender-variant community at Washington Square Park indicate that more work remains to be done.

The ladies came out in droves for an unlicensed visibility march from 42nd Street/Bryant Park to Washington Square Park in the West Village. Later that evening, the South Street Seaport’s Beekman Beach Club held their Siren NYC Pride Beach Party.